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Q1 2026 · Part 2 of 2
U.S. National
Multifamily Market
Institutional Multifamily Research & Transaction Intelligence
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| By Adam Dunn · Managing Director, Berkadia |
March 31, 2026 |
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$166.3B
National Volume
2025
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+12.7%
YOY Volume
Growth
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5.6%
Avg Cap Rate
National
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7,090
Transactions
2025
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■ Breaking News · March 31, 2026
Sun Life Acquires Bell Partners for $350M — BGO Merger to Follow
Sun Life Financial announced the acquisition of Bell Partners — ranked #8 on our 2025 Top Buyers list — for US$350 million, with at least 75% payable in Sun Life common shares. Bell manages approximately $10 billion in gross asset value and ~70,000 apartment homes across 12 U.S. regions. Simultaneously, BGO — Sun Life's real estate investment management arm — has agreed to merge with Bell Partners, creating a combined platform of more than $100 billion in assets under management. Bell Partners will retain its brand, leadership, and vertically integrated operating platform under BGO. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026, subject to regulatory and Toronto Stock Exchange approvals.
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01U.S. National Multifamily
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National apartment volume reached $166.3 billion in 2025, up 12.7% across 7,090 transactions and 802,389 units. Individual property sales rose 21.6% to $135.7B as investors underwrote acquisitions with increasing conviction on future income growth. Portfolio and entity-level activity fell 15.1% to $30.6B, reflecting the absence of large one-time entity transactions — including the AIR Communities acquisition — that elevated the 2024 baseline.
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The RCA Price Index declined 1.3% — a meaningful improvement from -3.0% in 2024. Cap rates held at 5.6% on a transaction-average basis, consistent with long-run historical norms averaging 6.1% over 25 years. Individual property sales drove the recovery at $135.7B (+21.6%) as single-asset conviction strengthened across institutional buyers.
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U.S. Apartment Snapshot — MSCI Real Capital Analytics, March 25, 2026
| Metric |
2025 |
YOY |
Q4 '25 |
Q1'26 YTD |
| Total Volume | $166.3B | +12.7% | $53.9B | $20.5B |
| Indiv. Property Vol. | $135.7B | +21.6% | $43.2B | $17.1B |
| Portfolio Volume | $30.6B | -15.1% | $10.7B | $3.4B |
| Properties | 7,090 | +18.6% | 2,084 | 889 |
| Avg Price / Unit | $219,532 | +4.2% | $224,049 | $222,005 |
| Avg Cap Rate | 5.6% | +4 bps | 5.5% | 5.7% |
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02Top 10 Markets by Volume — 2025
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| # |
Market |
2025 Vol. |
YOY |
Q1'26 YTD |
| 1 | NYC Metro | $13.8B | +45.0% | $3.3B |
| 2 | Dallas | $9.5B | +6.9% | $917M |
| 3 | LA Metro | $9.3B | -5.0% | $936M |
| 4 | SF Metro | $8.1B | +10.8% | $844M |
| 5 | Atlanta | $6.9B | +23.8% | $888M |
| 6 | Seattle | $6.2B | +48.2% | $458M |
| 7 | Miami / So. Florida | $6.1B | +1.3% | $656M |
| 8 | DC Metro | $6.0B | -17.1% | $843M |
| 9 | Boston Metro | $5.5B | +12.9% | $489M |
| 10 | Houston | $5.1B | +18.7% | $520M |
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03Top Multifamily Buyers — 2025
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The top 10 buyers represented approximately 10% of $166.3B in national deal flow. Source: MSCI Real Capital Analytics.
| # |
Buyer |
Props |
Volume |
| 01 | Harbor Group International | 51 | $3.42B |
| 02 | FPA Multifamily | 75 | $2.88B |
| 03 | Cortland | 24 | $1.99B |
| 04 | Morgan Stanley | 13 | $1.53B |
| 05 | Morgan Properties | 55 | $1.53B |
| 06 | PCCP | 85 | $1.42B |
| 07 | Greystar | 22 | $1.33B |
| 08 | Bell Partners | 9 | $1.25B |
| 09 | Fairfield Residential | 18 | $1.25B |
| 10 | Mesirow Financial | 12 | $1.25B |
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Adam Dunn · Managing Director, Berkadia · Nearly 20 years experience · $5B+ placed
© 2026 The Dunn Report. Data: RealPage (Q4 2025) · CoStar (Boston, Q4 2025) · Berkadia Boston MF Report (March 2026) · MSCI Real Capital Analytics (March 25, 2026). For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
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